Montenegro - Telecoms, IP Networks and Digital Media Description

Montenegro has made steady progress in its ambition to join the EU, with negotiations on two of 12 areas having been concluded by late 2014. As part of the EU pre-accession process, the country has received financial aid to build public institutions and improve cross-border co-operation under EU funding mechanism Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. The telecom sector has also been aligned with norms, which has opened up the market to competition and guided the development of elements such as access and tariff structures. Montenegro's liberalised telecom sector has been guided by legislation which adopts a range of regulatory principles found in the EU's regulatory framework for communications. This was updated in 2010 with the revised regulatory framework.

Closer integration with the EU coincided with a period of strong economic growth, with foreign direct investment focused on the construction and finance sectors. However, the ongoing regional financial crisis has significantly impacted Montenegro due to the contraction in the real estate sector and lower demand for exports. Real GDP contracted in 2009 by 5.7%, and though it recovered to show 2.5% growth in both 2010 and 2011 continuing difficulties affecting some of its main trading partners resulted in negative growth of 2.5% for 2012. Nevertheless, the economy recovered swiftly, with GDP growth of 3.4% in 2013 and an anticipated 2.8% for 2014.

Fixed broadband services are available via a variety of technology platforms including DSL, cable, leased line, fibre and wireless. The fibre sector has shown particularly strong growth since 2010 as the incumbent has invested in infrastructure upgrades, albeit mainly to serve apartment blocks in the main towns. DSL is also strong given the legacy reach of the incumbent's copper network, coupled with its existing market presence and range of service offerings that include broadband TV.

Mobile penetration is among the highest in Europe, though this is partly due to the significant number of tourists visiting the country seasonally, as also the preponderance of popular prepaid cards Networks based on WCDMA/HSPA and LTE technologies have been launched. This has formed the basis for new and expanding mobile broadband services.